


The Plague of The Heart

by LarryLashton98



Category: Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Ancient Roman Religion & Lore, Metamorphoses - Ovid, Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Apollo and Artemis have a good sibling relationship, Apollo kind of loses his mind by the end, F/M, Fights, Laurel Trees, Love Potion/Spell, Magic, School, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-11
Updated: 2019-12-11
Packaged: 2021-02-17 23:20:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21751369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LarryLashton98/pseuds/LarryLashton98
Summary: A modern retelling of Apollo and Daphne where they attend a magic school in Athens.
Relationships: Apollo/Daphne (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Apollo/Daphne (One-Sided)
Kudos: 9





	The Plague of The Heart

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for a class project because I didn't want to write an essay for the nth time and I thought it turned out well, so I decided to post it here.

“Why should I listen to such a low powered magician as yourself? Do you think you can do better than me, or something?" Apollo laughed cruelly and Cupid felt his blood boil.

He scowled. "Low powered? What makes you think I'm low powered? Because my strengths in magic are in love and affection? Something, might I add, that you have no natural talent in? Not even with your magic?"

Apollo laughed again, this time as though what Cupid had said was ridiculous. "I do great with both the ladies  _ and _ gentlemen, thank you very much. And, no, I don't need some spell or stupid potion for it. People love me for me. I don't need to trick them into liking me. Unlike others, apparently."

Cupid was fuming as he let his gaze flick around to their classmates who were standing around, watching. Watching Apollo make fun of him. Some of them were also laughing and holding their phones up to record the argument.

What Apollo had said about him was somewhat true- though Cupid hated to admit it. He wasn’t good at fighting. He wasn’t good at confrontations. This was Apollo’s element and he knew it. If they were somewhere else Cupid may have had an advantage. But they weren’t and he didn’t know what to do, what to say. For all the matchmaking he’d done for his friends and their friends, he hadn’t had much of his own share of relationships. Apollo must’ve known this and now he’s using it to strike against Cupid in front of everybody and Cupid couldn’t  _ do _ anything. Nothing he could do would help him, he'd just be digging a deeper grave. He wished that Apollo wasn’t a favourite of the class, of the professors, then, maybe then, he’d be able to strike out and hurt Apollo in front of everyone, as the other is doing to him, pushing back instead of meekly moving out of the way.

He was quiet for too long and Apollo’s grin just kept growing as the silence stretched on.

“Well, if you have nothing else to say, perhaps I should just go.”

Cupid stood there as Apollo swaggered away, fists clenched and face burning red in anger and humiliation. The videos of this would soon circulate and then everyone in the school would see and know that Cupid can’t stand up for himself in front of the boy only one year above him. His mom could see it and while she wouldn’t yell at him or scold him, she would be disappointed and would try and encourage him to stand up for himself as she had his whole life.

She’d always told him that she had had it difficult, people underestimating her at every turn, marking her up to be ‘just a ditzy blond,’ and people looking down on her for ‘not understanding actual important things like battle strategies or channelling elements.’ Unfortunately, he knew what she meant.

* * *

Once Apollo was on his own he let the proud, faux arrogant smirk fall from his face. Cupid’s comment about him not being able to hold a relationship stung more than he cared to admit. Especially not with an audience hanging onto every word of the argument.

* * *

_ Who does he think he is? _ Cupid thought to himself as he slammed the door to his room.  _ He thinks I’m not powerful, huh? I’ll show him what’s powerful and then he’ll be sorry he insulted me. Gods, _ Cupid chuckled,  _ this is going to ruin him. _

He looked up at the sky, seeing the waxing moon shining down from the night sky.  _ Perfect _ .

Pulling out his tarot deck from his desk drawer, he thumbed through them until he found the Lovers card which he put on the windowsill directly in the moonlight. Then he put two rose quartz in a glass cup which he then filled with water and placed on top of the tarot card to absorb the image to infuse the water.

The next morning he rose early and it was this water he set to boil in his kettle while he got to the other half of the potion.

Carefully sorting through his herbs, Cupid took out a teaspoon of dried hibiscus flowers, two teaspoons of dried lemon verbena, half a teaspoon of dried rose petals, half a teaspoon of fresh rosemary, half a teaspoon of fennel seeds, and one cardamom which he placed into his ceramic teapot that he had warmed over a lit pink candle.

When the infused water was boiling, Cupid carefully poured it into the teapot where the herbs were sitting. He let it steep for ten minutes while he took that time to get ready for the day. When it was ready, Cupid strained the tea as he poured it into his cerise travel mug, stirring melted honey into the steeped water with his silver spoon. When the honey was dissolved into the water he plucked a petal from a fresh rose and placed it on top of the water before putting the lid on the mug, ready to be consumed.

This potion was intended for two lovers to drink at the same time to strengthen the already existing bond, but Cupid tweaked it a little and gave twice the amount for it to have a greater effect. The only thing left was to make sure Apollo was thinking about her while he was drinking the tea.

* * *

“Hey, Apollo?”

Apollo looked up from his book. “Yes?” He was still irritated at Cupid, for saying that he was lacking in romance.

“I wanted to apologize for our fight yesterday. I think you’re a great wizard and I shouldn’t have said what I did.”

“Oh.” That hadn’t been what Apollo was expecting to hear. “Uh, thanks, I guess.”

“I made you this tea, it’s a specialty in my family, and I want you to have it. As a sort of peace offering.”

Apollo looked up at Cupid suspiciously for a few moments, trying to figure out what the other boy was up to. He hadn’t heard of Cupid’s family's special tea- but why would he have? He wasn’t friends with Cupid, nor was the rest of his family close to the Amare family.  “Thanks,” he said slowly, taking the travel mug offered forward in Cupid’s hands.

Cupid smiled and Apollo thought he saw something hidden behind the other’s eyes. There was a tinge of mischief that Apollo hadn’t noticed before. But again, he hadn’t been close to Cupid before and didn’t know how mischievous he normally tended to be.

“Is that for Ms. Rhea’s class?” Cupid asked, looking down at Apollo’s notebook.

“Yes,” Apollo said slowly, wondering why Cupid was asking as if they were friends.

“Daphne sits in front of you in that class, doesn’t she?”

“Um, I don’t know.”

Cupid hummed and then was gone as quickly as he had come.

The situation struck odd in Apollo, but he chalked it up to the whole conversation being odd in general. Dismissing the other boy from his mind, Apollo brought the drink to his lips and remembered the soft blond curls in front of him in class and wondered why Cupid cared.

As he was finishing the tea he heard a sort of wet slap sound and he took off the lid of the travel mug and peered inside to see what made the noise. He found a ruby red rose petal plastered on the side of the mug. Odd. Really odd. Why would Cupid put a rose petal in his drink? Was  _ that _ the secret ingredient? He’d heard of rose water, but he didn’t realize the rose petals stayed in the water.

Well, whatever it was for, he had to admit that the drink was good.

* * *

Meanwhile, Cupid set out to find Daphne. He hadn’t created a potion for her, but hatred spells were sufficient, especially in his family. If he could’ve only spelled Apollo he would have, but love spells can sometimes be wonky and weren’t very strong. To really make someone fall truly, deeply, and completely in love, a love potion was the best option. So, he had forced himself to approach Apollo in the library today and apologize for something that wasn’t his fault. Apollo was the one to blame, yet he, Cupid, was the one to bow down to the other.

He couldn’t help the giddiness that filled his chest when the other took the tea. Really, how dumb was this guy? Cupid’s family was known for being specialties in the love, romance, and affection part of the wizarding world, his mother, Aphrodite, in particular. Many had made fun of the Amare name, saying that they weren’t ‘true wizards’ and that they weren’t strong or powerful in comparison to the rest of their magic community. Those people were also the ones to forget that his mother had started a war as a result of one of her spells. 

Spying the girl who would soon be the object of Apollo’s affections, Cupid grinned and set to work.

* * *

“Arty, you’re not listening to me,” Apollo whined.

“I  _ am _ , unfortunately. I hear what you’re saying, but I just don’t agree with you. I can’t. I just…” Apollo didn’t hear the rest as his attention was drawn to a figure down the hallway behind his sister.

Apollo’s breath left his chest as he took her in.

Her eyes were a light, bright blue that Apolo swore he could swim in. He felt like he was already drowning in the pools of crystal water and his breath was falling short. Her eyes were framed by beautifully arched eyebrows and delicate eyelashes that cast a fanned shadow on her cheeks. Her lips quirked up in an adorable shy smile as she was listening to her friend speak, and her hair… Her hair flowed around her face in gentle waves and tumbled over her shoulders and down her back. The Athenian sunlight lit it up in a golden halo that rivalled angels and Apollo immediately felt drawn to her. He wanted to throw himself down at her feet and pledge his heart to her for as long as he lived.

He vaguely heard his sister say, “Now who’s the one not listening,” but he didn’t care.

“Arty,” he grabbed her arm. “Who’s that?”

“Who?” Artemis followed where he was looking. “Io?”

“No. No, the one talking to her.”

“Daphne?”

Apollo felt a smile creep across his face. “Daphne,” he sighed happily.

“What? No, Apollo, really? Didn’t you just break up with Coronis?  You were wailing about never finding love again and asking me what it was like to be asexual just last week!”

“What? No, I didn’t,” Apollo denied.

“Yes, you were.”

“Well, that’s because she was cheating on me! How can I expect to find love, like, actual love if my girlfriend can’t even stay faithful to me?”

Artemis rolled her eyes. “Then obviously she wasn’t the one for you.”

“Yeah,” Apollo pouted as he looked back over to Daphne.

“Who’s to say that she’s the one?” His sister asked.

“Who’s to say she’s not? Maybe it's written in the stars… " Apollo trailed off as he started composing a poem for Daphne in his head.

* * *

“It is to you, Daphne, that I, that I- I am at a loss for words- no,” Apollo trailed off as he paced around his room.

“Hey, man. What are you doing?” Came a voice from behind him and Apollo turned to see Hermes standing in the doorway to his room.

“I’m trying to figure out what to say to Daphne. Have you seen her? Oh, her hair is so luscious and her skin looks so smooth and soft and she has the brightest eyes and a gorgeous smile, and her laugh is just, oh.” Apollo could hardly believe himself when he swooned back against a wall. He-  _ Apollo _ \- swooned. Literally swooned over a girl. Girls were supposed to swoon over him. He turned back to his best friend. “Can you help me?”

Hermes’ eyes were wide. “I- what- what happened?”

“What?”

“I’ve never seen you like this, like, ever. And I’ve known you for forever.”

Apollo slumped onto his bed. “I know. I don’t know what’s happening to me. I’ve never felt like this before.”

Gently, Hermes sat beside him close enough that their elbows were touching.

“How long have you felt this way?”

“Since I first saw her last week. I was with Arty and she was in the hallway talking to Io.”

“Well, that wasn’t the first time you saw her because she was in some of our classes over the past few years.”

“Really?” Apollo hadn’t noticed her.

“Yeah. You just didn’t notice her, obviously,” his best friend voiced his thoughts.

“Oh. Well, I wanted to talk to her but I didn’t know what to say-”

“-that’s a first-” Hermes interrupted.

“-and she walked away before I could approach her,” Apollo continued, not acknowledging Hermes’ sassy remark. “I’ve been trying to figure out what to say to her but every time she’s near she walks away before I know what to do. And I never know what to do because every time I see her she takes my breath away and my mind blanks and it’s just  _ her _ . And, and I want her and I want to talk to her and I want to protect her.”

Hermes was silent for a few minutes. “Is that why I found you standing there in the hallway staring at nothing the other day?”

Apollo frowned. “Yeah.”

The two of them sat there for who knows how long as the quiet weighed down on them.

“This doesn’t sound like any other crush you’ve had before.”

“I know.”

Just then a knock sounded on the door before being pushed open and Artemis walked in.

“Hey, Arty,” Hermes greeted.

“Don’t call me that,” she scowled.

“We were just talking about Daphne.”

Apollo giggled and fell back onto the mattress at the sound of her name.

“It’s gotten worse, I see,” Artemis commented.

“You knew of this?”

“I was there when he ‘fell in love at first sight,’” his sister said dramatically and Apollo didn’t even have it in him to care that she was mocking him.

He mostly stopped listening to their conversation as he thought about the few interactions the two of them had if he could even call them that. He had seen her between classes but she had been swept away in the crowd of students before he could say anything.

Yesterday, when he was walking through the deserted corridors he had crossed paths with her, but she had run off so quickly. He had stopped and stared at her, awestruck at her beauty, for a few seconds as their eyes met and then she turned around speedwalking back the way she had just come; away from him. Broken out of his stupor, he had jogged after her, calling to her and asking her to wait. She had only gone faster until she was running, disappearing around a corner before she was just gone. He hadn’t figured out where she was and eventually had to walk away, though it hurt his heart; knowing he had come so close.

“Apollo!” A pillow smacked him in the face.

“What?”

You had a fight with Cupid the other day, did he do anything?”

“What, that love nerd? Yeah, right.”

“Apollo, I’m serious.”

“He didn’t do anything! He just stood there, not even thinking of anything to say. Besides, he came up to me the next day to apologize.”

“What exactly did he say?”

“That he was sorry and to offer me a tea as a peace offering.”

“Did you take it?”

“Yes.”

“You took it?”

“Gods, Arty, what’s the big deal? It was just a tea. It was pretty good, actually.”

“You  _ drank _ it?”

“What? What- why should I not have?”

“Are you forgetting who his mother is? Aphrodite is known for messing with people’s feelings and meddling in relationships that she has no part of. You drank a tea given to you by her son then ‘fell in love’ with Daphne the next day and you’re asking me what the big deal is? It was probably a love potion!”

Apollo’s eyes widened comically.

“A love potion?!” Hermes cried out, sounding like his mind had just been blown. “Duuuude. That sucks but makes so much sense.”

Apollo gave a deadpanned look to his best friend.

“You have to undo it,” Artemis interjected.

“How?”

“Can you use your head for once? Talk to Cupid! Say you’re sorry and ask for him to reverse it somehow. Give him a peace offering or something, I don’t know! Anything!”

"The tea  _ was _ a peace offering," he complained.

"No, that was a trick because you edged him on and that was how he retaliated. You need to actually settle this."

“Fine! Okay, I’ll talk to him.”

* * *

Cupid was in the hallway when Apollo next saw him and he scrambled to catch up.

"Hey, Cupid," he called out as he jogged over.

When he saw who it was the other boy scowled. "What do you want? Have you come to mock me more?"

"No, no. I need to talk to you."

Cupid raised one patronizing eyebrow at him and Apollo fought to keep himself from scowling.

“What did you do to me?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, you do. That tea you gave me had something in it, it was some kind of love potion.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Because I’m suddenly in love with this girl that I’ve never seen or talked to before! I can’t think of anything else but her ever since you gave me that tea.”

“Wait… you’re having love problems? I thought you said you do just fine with that.”

This time Apollo didn’t hold back when he growled. “I know you did it. Grow up and admit it. You’ve made your point, you’ve gotten your revenge, now undo it."

“No. You haven’t learned yet. It is Love the Destroyer  that will bring you down, make you fall to your knees, Love who is always underrated but who breaks people, people who think that nothing can touch them. Because Love always strikes where and when no one expects and nothing can be done to fight it.”

“Stop with all that gibberish! What the hell do you mean?” Apollo yelled out.

“You think you’re so untouchable, that you can do anything to anyone and get away with it, but love comes from within and isn’t a foe that you can strike down with a sword or bow. There is no one who can keep it at bay, not even you.”

“But you can. You were the one who stuck my heart speechless and you can be the one to undo it.”

Cupid laughed cruelly, mocking Apollo. “There is no cure for love.” With that, he was gone and Apollo was left with unanswered questions and longing and want still plaguing his heart.

* * *

Apollo's head was filled with dizzying waves of thoughts of Daphne and her pure smooth skin, bright eyes and dazzling smile. He couldn't get any work done like this; the only thing coming from his pen is  terrible sketches of her and little love poems both for her and about her. Ms. Rhea had pulled him aside after class the other day to comment about his grades slipping. After Cupid had refused to help him and only speaking nonsense, Apollo’s world tunnelled until it was only the fair-skinned girl he yearned for.

Then, like a beacon of light pulling a lost man to shore, Daphne was walking by herself on the other side of the courtyard and Apollo smiled and ran towards her.

* * *

Apollo’s heart was at a standstill;  part of him saying to stop tearing at the wood slowly overcoming Daphne’s luscious frame and the pouring blood and her agonizing screams pulling from her lips; the other greater part of him needed her  _ now _ . Though his heart was being torn, his body couldn’t stop moving, reaching, touching. He couldn’t stop himself from needing to feel her smooth skin under his fingers but first, he had to strip away the bark that was hiding her from him. Even as she changed, she tried to evade his touch, arching away, he couldn’t stop himself from reaching out to bring her closer to him. He didn’t know what had come over him, but he needed, needed, needed.

He needed as her calves and hips were being invaded. He needed as her fingers and arms evolved into bows and branches. He needed as her flowing hair grew leaves that caressed his cheeks as he leaned towards her still. He needed until he couldn’t see her anymore. He needed as he took in the towering tree that stood before him. He needed as he pressed his lips to her dainty stalk when she could no longer shy away from him. He needed even as her branches pushed him away, further and further from her trunk.

At last, he stood there and looked at the tree that had taken over his beautiful Daphne. He looked and gathered and made a wreath of small branches and leaves, placing it to rest on his golden curls and swore to remember his love for as long as he lived.

**Author's Note:**

> If you happened to find, read, and enjoy this, I'd love it if you'd leave kudos or comment. It would make my day :)


End file.
